The analytical, specialized nature of most biochemistry makes it unlikely that you will gain much exposure to it before college. Many high school chemistry and biology courses, however, allow students to work with laboratory tools and techniques that will give them a valuable background before college. In some cases, high school students can take advantage of opportunities to train as laboratory technicians by taking courses at a community college. You might also want to contact local colleges, universities, or laboratories to set up information interviews with biochemists to learn as much as you can about the field. Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job? How will advances in technology change the field? In addition, reading science and medical publications will help you to stay current with recent breakthroughs in the biochemistry field.
Participate in competitions that are offered by professional associations, youth organizations, and other entity. For example, the Technology Student Association (https://tsaweb.org/competitions-programs) offers 40 competitions for high school students, including those in Biotechnology Design and Data Science and Analytics.
Check out the following Web sites for information on biochemistry and biotechnology careers and related topics:
- Biotech Careers: https://innovatebio.org/resource/biotech-careers
- Careers & the Chemical Sciences: https://www.acs.org/careers/chemical-sciences.html
- High School Pathways in Biotechnology: https://innovatebio.org/high-school-network
- Welcome to Biotech Careers: https://biotech-careers.org
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